Dravid among top five all time Indian greats

Kolkata: Former stylish Indian batsman G R Viswanath rated Adelaide triumph hero Rahul Dravid as one of the five all time great batsmen of the country and predicted that India could emerge victors in the ongoing tour Down Under if they could hold fort in the final Test at Sydney.

''He is definitely one of the five greatest Indian batsmen ever,'' Viswanath, who is in Kolkata to officiate as Match Referee in the Kenstar Asian 'A' Teams' cricket tournament, said. The touch artist, however, refused to name the other four.

Lavishing praise on Dravid, Viswanath said that he had played a number of excellent knocks in the past. ''But this time people are sitting up and taking notice as he has played such a spectacular match-winner''.

Viswanath also lauded the partnership between Dravid and V V S Laxman that fashioned the magnificent Indian victory.

''This is the second time they have scripted such a large partnership. This shows their excellent understanding. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to stitch together such a long partnership twice in Test cricket,'' he said.

Dravid and Laxman had earlier been associated in a huge partnership in the Eden Gardens Test of 2001 against the same side where India almost came back from the dead to snatch a historic win.

Asked whether he foresaw India bagging the series, Viswanath said ''To make it possible, our boys have to hold fort at Sydney, where the conditions could be a bit tough for them'.